Honorio Stops Archuleta; Knight Beats West in Thriller

Two new champions were crowned, as Roy Englebrecht Events presented a highly entertaining five-bout card Tuesday night at the Table Mountain Casino in Friant, California.

In the main event, former title challenger Martin Honorio (25-4-1, 15 KOs) of Bell, California stopped Frankie Archuleta (25-6, 14 KOs) of Bernalilla, New Mexico in the fifth-round to claim the vacant IBA Super Featherweight title. Honorio, 130, took the fight to Archuleta, 130, from the opening bell and never let up.

Honorio, who took the fight on short notice to replace the injured Roger Gonzalez, continually backed Archuleta to the ropes and worked him over. In the fourth, Archuleta finally succumbed to a vicious barrage in taking a knee, although the last blow seemed to stray low. The scoring of the knockdown became insignificant the following round. Honorio continued his relentless pressuring of Archuleta, landing a clean body shot that forced his opponent to lift one of his legs off the mat. As Archuleta slithered off the ropes and began to turn away, referee Marty Sammon called a halt to the bout at 1:19 of the fifth. With the win, Honorio figures to move himself in line for a bigger fight in the open super featherweight division.

IFBA #2 ranked bantamweight Ava Knight (5-0-2, 2 KOs) of Chico, California proved the validity of her ranking by scoring a unanimous decision over IFBA #3 Kaliesha West (10-1, 2 KOs) of Moreno Valley, California in a thrilling eight-round bout. West, 117.8, got off to great start as her speed seemed to bother Knight early. As the rounds progressed, Knight, 117.6, gained the momentum by landing the cleaner and harder shots.

In the fifth, a knot began to develop on the left side of Knight’s forehead as the result of a clash of heads. Action was fast and furious, as neither woman wanted a punch to go unanswered. Late in the fight, Knight’s clear edge in power seemed to tilt matters in her favor. Undeterred, West kept coming forward until the close of a great fight fought at an extremely high level. After an action-packed eighth round, both fighters received a standing ovation.

In the end, all three judges scored the bout 77-75 for Knight, who claims the IFBA North American Bantamweight title with the win. “This is big, this is big for me,” said Knight after the bout. “I want to cry, but I can’t get it out.” This was a highly anticipated fight for those who follow women’s boxing, especially in California, and it did not disappoint. Both Knight and her trainer Joe Rodriguez acknowledged West after the bout. “West was good, and I take my hat off to her for giving Ava the opportunity,” said Rodriguez. “But Ava Knight is “The Lady of Boxing,” and she showed that tonight.”

Knight, who has already fought IFBA Flyweight Champion Elena Reid to a disputed draw, claimed she had never had a tougher fight. “I have never fought anyone that fast, or anyone that good, but I came out well,” said Knight. “It was a good fight, the toughest I have ever had. I deserve this. I pushed through and worked hard and I deserve this.”

Late replacement Abdon Lozano Jr. (4-0, 1 KO) of Las Vegas, Nevada upset previously unbeaten Aaron Martinez (8-1-1, 3 KOs) of East Los Angeles, California, taking a six-round majority decision. Martinez, 147, would start each round well, scoring clean and telling punches. However, in most rounds, Lozano, 146.8, would come on mid-round as Martinez appeared to tire.

The rough fight turned somewhat dirty early on, as both fighters continued to throw after the bell in the first. Martinez was cut high on the temple during the fourth, but it did not appear to hinder him much in the fight. The bad blood continued throughout the fight, as each fighter would complain to referee Marty Sammon about various infractions. After six competitive rounds, two judges had the fight for Lozano, 58-56. The lone dissenting judge had the fight even, 57-57.

Loren Myers (7-4, 2 KOs) of Fresno, California won a mauling four-round unanimous decision over Derrick Thomas (2-6, 1 KO) of Orange, California. Myers, 157.8, was given the nod over Thomas, 155.8, with scores of 40-36, 39-37 and an even 38-38. Myers had previously scored a decision win over Thomas last September.

In a wild shootout, Jorge Roque (1-0) of San Jose, California dropped Francisco Andrade (0-1) of Stockton, California three times en route to a four-round unanimous decision win.
Roque, 133.6, threw the straighter punches throughout, which led to two knockdowns in the first and another in the second round. Andrade, 134.5, kept coming forward, swinging for the fences, and may have won both the third and fourth rounds. Scores read 38-35, 40-33 and 39-34 for Roque.

Photos by Marie Gonzales

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com